Justification to Restrict Competition Over SAT Solicitation 1232SA26Q1353_Redacted.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Justification to Restrict Competition

Identification Number: 1232SA26Q1353

Rev. 11/6/2025

In accordance with the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 12.102 (b), the following justification documents the decision to restrict competition for this acquisition.

(1) Mission Area and Contracting Activity.

Mission Area: National Agricultural Library, 10301 Baltimore Ave (RM 123), Beltsville, MD 20705.

Contracting Activity: Contracting Operations Branch/Acquisition and Property Division.

The United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, National Agricultural Library, proposes to enter into a contract on a basis other than full and open competition.

(2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This J&A authorizes and approves USDA, ARS, National Agricultural Library (NAL) intent to award a sole-source, firm-fixed price, for the procurement of immediate, continuous, uninterrupted, un-embargoed, authenticated Premium electronic access for all USDA users to the Financial Times Limited (The) via the FT.com website.

The suggested contractor is:

Financial Times Limited (The) Bracken House 1 Friday Street London EC4M 9BT, United Kingdom

UEI: MS65WL9QL8F5

(3) A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

USDA, ARS, National Agricultural Library (NAL) requires immediate, continuous, uninterrupted, unembargoed, authenticated Premium electronic access for all USDA users to Financial Times Limited (The) via the FT.com website for use by all USDA employees, authorized public on-site users, contractors, cooperators, and volunteers working on behalf of USDA and acting within the scope of their relationship with USDA.

It is anticipated that one (1) firm fixed-price contract consisting of one (1) one-year base period and four (4) one-year option periods will be awarded.

United States Department of Agriculture Justification to Restrict Competition

Identification Number: 1232SA26Q1353

Rev. 11/6/2025

(NAL) requirement. A requirement analysis was conducted within the Contract Opportunities section on SAM.gov. This query confirmed that alternative vendors lack the technical capability and specialized infrastructure required for this project. NAL personnel reviewed historical procurement data for identical and similar acquisitions, which confirmed a consistent lack of alternative market participants. Additionally, staff consulted definitive, current industry benchmarks, including: The 2026 EBSCO Serials Price Projection Report and the 2026 Library Journal Periodicals Price Survey. Subject matter experts at NAL performed extensive internet research and engaged in targeted technical dialogues with vendors during recent professional industry conferences. These interactions confirmed that there are no other third-party aggregators or alternative distributors that possess the legal rights or technical capability to broadcast or provide access to this proprietary data. All multi-faceted market research methods conclusively demonstrate that Financial Times Limited (The) is the sole authorized source capable of satisfying the government’s explicit requirements. As a result, it is determined that only one responsible source is available, and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency needs.

(9) Any other facts supporting use of other than full and open competition, such as:

No other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition are available. No technical data packages, specifications, or statements of work were developed due to a lack of need. A determination has been made that only one vendor can fulfill the requirement of the USDA, ARS, National Agricultural Library (NAL). Sole Source vendor, Financial Times Limited (The) is the copyright holder to the content published by the vendor. The content of Financial Times Limited (The) are unique and not available from any other source.

(10) A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in the acquisition in writing.

No technically capable responses have been received and there is only one source that can meet all of the government’s requirements.

(11) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition of the supplies or services required.

Financial Times Limited (The) is the copyright holder of its content for its publications; there is no expectation that two or more responses would be submitted by qualified small businesses. Based on information provided, there is no expectation that other sources would have the legal right to provide these resources.